Dual blade spatula

ABSTRACT

A spatula for manipulating food articles on a grill or pan features a pair of independently supported spatula blades held at a right dihedral angle with a gap or passage between the two blades at the vertex of the dihedral angle. The separated construction of the blades facilitates cleaning and renders manufacturing economical. The spatula blades are supported in balanced relationship on a common handle parallel to the vertex but connected with the blades by right angular extensions which facilitate entering the spatula in a rimmed pan or receptacle.

United States Patent 1 1 Godlewski [451 Aug. 21, 1973 1 DUAL BLADE SPATULA [75] Inventor: Joseph F. Godlewski, Gaithersburg,

[73] Assignee: Vincent K. McMahon, Gaithersburg,

Md. a part interest [22] Filed: Mar. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 233,918

[52] us. CI. 294/7 [51] Int. Cl. A47j 43/28 [58] Field of Search 294/7, 8; l5/235.4-235,8

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,601,360 6/1952 Blackshear 294/8 2,551,877 5/1951 Ditto 294/7 2,567,091 9/1951 Whitnah et al. 294/7 Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry Attorney-Brady, OBoyle & Gates [57] ABSTRACT A spatula for manipulating food articles on a grill or pan features a pair of independently supported spatula blades held at a right dihedral angle with a gap or passage between the two blades at the vertex of the dihedral angle. The separated construction of the blades facilitates cleaning and renders manufacturing economical. The spatula blades are supported in balanced relationship on a common handle parallel to the vertex but connected with the blades by right angular extensions which facilitate entering the spatula in a rimmed pan or receptacle.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures DUAL BLADE SPATULA CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application contains subject matter in common with prior copending application Ser. No. 203,368, filed Nov. 30, 1971, for SPATULA, Joseph F. Godlewski, inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to improve upon the spatula structure in said prior application in several important respects. In the structure of the prior application, the dual right angular spatula blades are formed from one piece of metal and are slotted in their forward ends at the vertex of the dihedral angle formed by the blades, to impart thereto the necessary degree of resiliency. Such structure, while quite efficient, requires expensive dies to produce and also presents a problem in cleaning the spatula in the corners where the blade structure is joined to the handle. The present invention completely overcomes these defects of the structure in the earlier application by forming the two spatula blades separately and in conventional shapes which enable the use of existing dies to further reduce the expensive manufacturing. There is a relatively wide gap or slot between the two right angular blades at the vertex of the dihedral angle and each blade is independently resiliently supported on a separate handle extension connected to a common manipulating handle lying parallel to the vertex but offset therefrom laterally. The symmetry and balanced relationship of the two blades to the handle is preserved for ease of manipulation. The handle extensions carrying the two blades extend at right angles to the handle so that the latter is offset considerably from the vertex. This allows entry of the spatula into the bottom of a deep fry pan or the like without the necessity for a great degree of flexing of the spatula blades. The structure is universal in the sense that it is not designed for right or left hand usage.

As in the prior application, the spatula is intended for handling hamburgers, pancakes, fried eggs and the like on charcoal grills and frying pans. The spatula is particularly useful with outdoor charcoal grills in preventing hamburgers from falling through the spaces between grill bars. It is also very useful in turning over pancakes and delicate food items such as eggs on a pan without breaking or splattering the egg. As brought out in the prior application, the dual-bladed spatula allows the picking up of the article with one blade followed by a gentle controlled turning over onto the second blade and then a gentle depositing of the article from the second blade onto the grill or pan. The balanced construction of the spatula greatly facilitates its use.

In accordance with a slight modification, small stops may be formed on one spatula balde to prevent eggs and the like from sliding into or through the open passage at the vertex of the structure.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dual blade spatula embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the spatula.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation thereof in a use position.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end elevation of the spatula in FIG. 4 illustrating the flexure of one blade relative to another blade.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals designate like parts, and referring first to FIGS. 14:, the numerals l0 and 11 designate identical generally rectangular spatula blades formed of springy sheet metal and arranged at a right dihedral angle. A relatively wide open passage or gap 12 is provided between the two blades 10 and 11 at the vertex of the dihedral angle formed by the blades, and this gap or passage extends longitudinally for the entire lengths of the blades. The blades 10 and 11 may be conventionally shaped so that existing commercial dies may be employed in manufacturing the spatula.

The two blades of the spatula are carried on a common handle 13 having a suitable hand grip 14. The handle 13 is parallel to the vertex formed by the blades 10 and 11 but offset from the vertex, as shown. The common handle is joined to the two spatula blades by a pair of divergent right angular arms or extensions 15 integral with the handle 13 and extending perpendicular thereto. The two arms 15 carry short forwardly projecting portions 16 which engage beneath the rear portions of the blades 10 and 11 centrally and are firmly secured to the blades by welding or the like. The blades 10 and 1 l are quite resilient and the arms 15 possess some degree of resiliency. Consequently, the two spatula blades being independently supported in this manner are very efficient in getting under food items on a flat cooking surface as depicted in FIG. 3, for example.

The separated arrangement of the blades 10 and 11 renders the structure free of sharp corners or crevices likely to collect dirt or contamination. The device is very easy to clean in its entirety so as to meet stringent restaurant health regulations.

The spatula is very well balanced and symmetrical and a single model serves for both right and left hand users. The offset relationship of the handle 13 from the vertex of the dihedral angle allows the spatula blades to enter a deep frying pan or the like with ease and without the need for great flexing of the blade.

Various food items, as above-mentioned, can be lifted with ease and carefully turned overy by transferring from one spatula blade to the other. This is accomplished easily by a rotational movement of the spatula on the axis of the handle. Following this operation, the food article can be gently transferred from the second blade onto the cooking surface, whether grill bars or a fry pan or smooth grill. In the turning operation the dual bladed spatula also shields the user quite effectively from splattering hot grease.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a modification of the spatula particularly useful for such items as fried eggs and pancakes or other thin articles which might tend to slide through the open passage 12. In these figures, one spatula blade 11' is formed with a pair of upstanding stop elements 17 in spaced relation along its interior straight edge. The blade 11' and the companion blade 10' are both enlarged and rounded on their outer sides in comparison to the blades 10 and 11 to more adequately support fried eggs, larger pancakes and the like. The

implement illustrated in FIG. 4 having the stops 17 is a right hand spatula. The stops l7 serve to prevent fried eggs and the like from sliding through the passage 12 during the turning operation.

FIG. illustrates the flexing movement of the spatula blade 11 in response to contact with a grill or frying pan and the upstanding stops 17 move upwardly with this blade in relation to the blade as indicated. In other respects, the spatula shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is used in much the same manner as the spatula in FlGS. 1-3 and also in the same manner described in said prior copending application.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. A spatula comprising a pair of resiliently flexible separately formed spatula blades positioned substantially at a right dihedral angle in spaced relation to form an unobstructed open longitudinal passage between and throughout the length of the blades at the vertex of the dihedral angle and having inwardly facing load engaging working surfaces, a handle for the spatula common to said blades and extending beyond the rear ends of the blades in substantially parallel relationship to said vertex but offset laterally therefrom, and a pair of divergent arms secured to said handle and extending transversely thereof toward said blades and secured to the separately formed blades at the rear end portions of the blades independently suspending the two blades from said handle enabling said blades to independently flex throughout the length thereof relative to each other.

2. The structure of claim 1, and said handle being equidistantly spaced from each blade of the spatula and offset symmetrically from the top working faces of the blades to impart to the spatula a balanced universal configuration.

3. The structure of claim 2, and said arms diverging substantially at right angles to each other and being substantially perpendicular to said handle and blades and attached to the blades substantially at the transverse centers thereof.

4. The structure of claim 1, and said spatula blades being generally rectangular and identically formed from resilient sheet material.

5. A spatula comprising a pair of separately formed spatula blades positioned substantially at a right dihedral angle in spaced relation to form an open passage between the blades at the vertex of the dihedral angle, at least one upstanding stop element formed on one spatula blade at the interior longitudinal edge thereof and adjacent to said open passage and preventing food articles from sliding through said passage between said blades, a handle for the spatula common to said blades and extending beyond the rear ends of the blades in substantially parallel relationship to said vertex but offset laterally therefrom, and a pair of divergent arms secured to said handle and extending transversely thereof toward said blades and secured to the blades at the rear end portions of the blades, whereby the two spatula blades are independently suspended from said handle.

6. The structure of claim 5, and said spatula blades formed of resilient sheet metal and a spaced pair of stop elements formed on one blade at said interior longitudinal edge by upward bending of the material from which said blade is made during the formation of the blade.

7. The structure of claim 6, and said spatula blades having substantially straight right angular leading and interior longitudinal edges and rounded outer side and rear margins to produce enlarged blade bodies which project substantial distances beyond the opposite sides of said handle. 

1. A spatula comprising a pair of resiliently flexible separately formed spatula blades positioned substantially at a right dihedral angle in spaced relation to form an unobstructed open longitudinal passage between and throughout the length of the blades at the vertex of the dihedral angle and having inwardly facing load engaging working surfaces, a handle for the spatula common to said blades and extending beyond the rear ends of the blades in substantially parallel relationship to said vertex but offset laterally therefrom, and a pair of divergent arms secured to said handle and extending transversely thereof toward said blades and secured to the separately formed blades at the rear end portions of the blades independently suspending the two blades from said handle enabling said blades to independently flex throughout the length thereof relative to each other.
 2. The structure of claim 1, and said handle being equidistantly spaced from each blade of the spatula and offset symmetrically from the top working faces of the blades to impart to the spatula a balanced universal configuration.
 3. The structure of claim 2, and said arms diverging substantially at right angles to each other and being substantially perpendicular to said handle and blades and attached to the blades substantially at the transverse centers thereof.
 4. The structure of claim 1, and said spatula blades being generally rectangular and identically formed from resilient sheet material.
 5. A spatula comprising a pair of separately formed spatula blades positioned substantially at a right dihedral angle in spaced relation to form an open passage between the blades at the vertex of the dihedral angle, at least one upstanding stop element formed on one spatula blade at the interior longitudinal edge thereof and adjacent to said open passage and preventing food articles from sliding through said passage between said blades, a handle for the spatula common to said blades and extending beyond the rear ends of the blades in substantially parallel relationship to said vertex but offset laterally therefrom, and a pair of divergent arms secured to said handle and extending transversely thereof toward said blades and secured to the blades at the rear end portions of the blades, whereby the two spatula blades are independently suspended from said handle.
 6. The structure of claim 5, and said spatula blades formed of resilient sheet metal and a spaced pair of stop elements formed on one blade at said interior longitudinal edge by upward bending of the material from which said blade is made during the formation of the blade.
 7. The structure of claim 6, and said spatula blades having substantially straight right angular leading and interior longitudinal edges and rounded outer side and rear margins to produce enlarged blade bodies which project substantial distances beyond the opposite sides of said handle. 